Sutton - Yay or Nay?

[Cris1976]

Hi all. Firstly I've got to say it's great having people who are willing to share local knowledge on here on places that are good or no good to move to if you're not from the area. It seems like this forever quest to finding a normal 3 bedder is going in circles but we've now narrowed it down to SW London (even if we've only ever been there a handful of times).

We are now focussing on Sutton in particular but again, are really not sure of the locations within this large region. We've seen a few places around the Rosehill area which are 'suspiciously' more fairly priced...is this an area worth considering? It's just for us and our 4 year old girl, so good schooling is high on the list!

If there are any suggestions on areas in the vicinity to consider...we are all ears to the invaluable advice!
Budget has now gone scarily high (for us!) to near 600k so don't want to make a mistake on the area if the house is nice.

Much much appreciated

Rosehill was certainly the traditional rough area but don't know the area so well now. But sounds like still cheaper than other nicer parts of Sutton

Hi, are you able to go visit the area? We considered Sutton but didn't like it when we viewed a house there. Is there a reason you want SW London? It's a very pricey area! For 600k in SW London, I'd recommend Epsom, Ewell or Worcester Park over Sutton. If you'd consider going a bit further east, Coulsdon, Banstead (slow trains), Woodmansterne are all nice. Purley has the excellent Riddlesdown Collegiate.

Hi! I know Sutton gets a bad rep, but that's only the high street itself (which by the way has much more amenities than many of the other towns mentioned).

South Sutton is nice, as is Carshalton Beeches, Cheam, Ewell and Epsom. But once you get into Banstead etc the trains are way too slow for commuting and also feels a bit too rural for my liking.

For schooling, you have great outstanding primaries all across Epsom, Ewell, Sutton, Cheam to be honest. And for secondaries, you have Nonsuch Girls High (Cheam), Rosebery (Epsom), and privates if you were considering those.

Rosehill is less popular than other areas (South Sutton, Carshalton etc) and prices reflect that. However it is well connected (bus to Morden), near the High Street (which is good, lots of improvements and some new businesses although sadly nothing to replace Debenhams yet). Primary schools are pretty much all good. Secondary there are good ones too but not sure exactly where you would get into e.g. Greenshaw, Glenthorne, Carshalton Girls might be a bit far. There was meant to be a new Secondary school built but not sure what has happened with that.

In my opinion what makes it less popular are trickier parking (the hospital doesn't help this) which makes some roads narrow with parked cars (true of other areas too!), higher density housing and other areas being 'leafier'. It does vary road by road though.

I think it's a decent area to live with good transport connections, good schools are 'affordable' housing. Sutton Sports village is great with children, plus there is David Weir leisure centre and being close to the hospital can be handy. I suspect it will become more popular over time. Other areas to compare to are Sutton/Carshalton borders, North Cheam, possibly Worcester Park and Ewell.

This one's fine

www.rightmove.co.uk/properties/113949371#/?channel=RES_BUY

also good value www.rightmove.co.uk/properties/114007334#/?channel=RES_BUY

Would I buy by the sports centre in Benhilton? Yes. Would I buy in Rose Hill/St Helier itself? no.

Hi ChrisTracy.
Thanks for those links ! Why would you not buy in Rosehill? Ie around Rosehill Garden West?

Thanks everyone, we’ve down a lot of looking down in West Byfleet, Hersham, Banstead, Ashted. The latter two are lovely areas but a bit of a commute trek of far from from the station.
Thanks for all this invaluable local info on schools.
We are only able to visit these areas over the weekends…. It’s a heck of a round trip just to do this. We are located in East London but looking in areas with good links to Victoria but also decent schools.

Anywhere south of those parks is fine - I wouldnt buy on the Rose Hill/St Helier estate itself if I had the money not to. I would buy smaller elsewhere.

I wouldn't. We did the same move east London to the areas you are looking at. We looked at a lot of houses in Sutton but in desperation moved to one of the areas with a poorer commute. Now we actually know the area 6 years after moving Me and my partner still feel so relieved that we didn't buy in Sutton (and it was a leafy area, not one of the north Sutton areas). Honestly if you can, rent nearby so you really get to know the area and what is right for you.

Thanks !
Btw it’s not on the estate itself just nearby, more specifically Rosehill Prk east.
Where did you end up moving to caoixr… if you don’t mind saying ?

Rosehill Park East is fine plus in catchment for Greenshaw. I would rather be in Carshalton or Cheam Village but I think its still good value. Sutton is in the process of gentrifying and therefore isnt everyones cup of tea but for facilities, schools, green spaces and services its very good.

It also depends on how much you prioritise schools of course - if you are quite relaxed then Banstead or somewhere may work better. If your risk tolerance is very low with education then Sutton is a much better bet but you will have to forgo the Waitrose. Just choices as usual.

@caoixr

I wouldn't. We did the same move east London to the areas you are looking at. We looked at a lot of houses in Sutton but in desperation moved to one of the areas with a poorer commute. Now we actually know the area 6 years after moving Me and my partner still feel so relieved that we didn't buy in Sutton (and it was a leafy area, not one of the north Sutton areas). Honestly if you can, rent nearby so you really get to know the area and what is right for you.

Whats wrong with Sutton? I get the high street isnt great and neither is north sutton, but south side is beautiful, easy access to everything, and unbelievably good schools

We moved to a leafy-ish area of Sutton 4 years ago and love it! I have relatives in Banstead (poor transport and very reliant on cars) and Epsom. I might have to drive to Cheam or Banstead twice a year to visit Waitrose but much prefer Sutton High Street (even to Epsom) for it's range of shops. There are some nice pubs around and we often go to Wimbledon if we want more choice of restaurants. Plus my daughter is at a brilliant school. We moved from a zone 2 slightly rough area though, so the grittier end of the high street seems fine!

I agree with what ChristopherTracy is saying about some bits being better than others.

My main point is that you can't beat actually living in a place to find out whether it's for you. We thought Sutton was everything we wanted but actually living in the general area we realised that it isn't. You might find that Sutton is totally right for you but I would rather find that out for sure. We ended up moving close to Banstead.

Fair point caoixr it can be hard to get a sense of a place before buying. I grew up nearish before moving away for a decade so it was fairly familiar.

I live in Rosehill. It's the only place we could afford a house. The area is ok, a bit scruffy and tough around the edges and I'd rather live elsewhere to be honest but it's safe enough. Rosehill park is quite nice and the schools nearby are good. It's been good for a first time buy.

Thanks for all your very useful posts.
Vbree, I will drop you a message if you don’t mind !

We also have looked in Banstead…Lovely but a bit further out and prices definitely stronger.

@Cris1976

Thanks for all your very useful posts. Vbree, I will drop you a message if you don’t mind !

We also have looked in Banstead…Lovely but a bit further out and prices definitely stronger.

No problem please do yes Banstead is lovely if you can afford it. Just a bit far out commuter wise.